Door closer mechanism



Jam., 25, 1955 M. CARLSON 2,700,175

DOOR CLOSER MECHANISM Filed Feb. 18, 1952 2 sheem-shefvu 1.

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Jan. 25, 1955 M. CARLSQN 2,700,175

DooR CLOSER MECHANISM Filed Feb. 18, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l IN VEN TOR.

Mmzzm: Uur/jazz United States Patent Office 2,700,175 rammed Jan. 25, 195s DOOR CLOSER MECHANISM Martin Carlson, Brookfield, Ill., assignor to George W. Houlsby, Jr., Chicago, Ill.

Application February 18, 1952, Serial No. 272,208

1 Claim. (Cl. 16-185) This invention relates to improvements in door closer mechanism.

A door closer mechanism of the type here under consideration generally is located liush with the floor beneath the door controlled by the mechanism and is provided with an upstanding spindle to which the lower edge of the door is secured, which spindle is rotated through an are against spring action as the door is swung to an open position for storing energy in a spring or springs which close the door when the same is released. Some such mechanisms are designed for use with double acting doors and some with single acting doors and provide means, usually hydraulic in character, for checking the swinging movements as the doors approach the closing position. The hydraulic means for checking the closing movements of a door form no part of the present improvements and are not shown herein, but are disclosed in my pending application Serial No. 20,515, iled April l2, 1948, for Door Check Mechanism, now Patent No. 2,603,818, dated July 22, 1952.

In some such door closer mechanisms, hold-open means are provided for retaining the doors in predetermined open positions after the doors have been swung to such positions, and which mechanisms will move the doors to fully closed positions by reason of the spring action, upon manual release of the doors from such open positions. The present invention relates to control means for mechanism of such hold-open type, and an object of the present invention is to provide a selectively adyustable blocking or control device for such a door closer mechanism which, when the device is in an inoperative position, permits the door closer mechanism to function as usual, but when the device is in operative position renders the hold-open features of Vthe mechanism ineffective, whereby the door will be closed by the closer mechanism immediately following release of the door by the person opening it.

The present improvements as described in detail hereinafter make it possible `readily to convert a door closer mechanism of the hold-open type into one which will not hold the door in open position, and can as readily be reconverted to a condition for performing the holdopen function. Such selective functioning of the present improvements increases the usefulness of such a door closer mechanism since the hold-open means may readily be rendered operative or inoperative as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a control device of the character mentioned which can be operated readily from the exterior of the Vcloser casing for varying the functioning of the closer mechanism in the respect stated as may be desired from time to time.

In the accompanying drawing a door closer mechanism ofthe hold-open type is shown equipped with the present improvements, by means of which the door closer mechanism can be converted at will into the hold-open or non-hold-open type.

ln the drawing, Figure l is a plan view of a door closer mechanism located. in operative position, the door controlled by the mechanism being shown in partial section.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the closer mech."- nism with the top plate broken away and showing operative parts in a door closed position, and including a manually operable control or selector device in inoperative position.

Fig. 3 is a broken plan View of the door closer mechanism illustrating the mechanism in a door hold-open position.

Fig. 4 is a broken plan view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the control means in a position to arrest opening movement of the door at a position short of that at which the hold-open features of the mechanism become operative.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged broken sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3 and showing the control means in inoperative position. l

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the control means in an operative position.

Fig. 7 is a broken plan view of a laterally shiftable rack bar shown in meshing engagement with a rack of a longitudinal reciprocal head, which racks constitute operative elements of the present improvements, the view being taken along line 77 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a broken plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 6 illustrating the rack bar shifted laterally to a position to block the full throw to the left of the spring resisted head of the mechanism, and preventing interengagement of the hold-open element of the door closer mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view talten on line 9-9 of Fig. 5.

Fig. l0 is a sectional View taken on line 10-10 of Fig. 2.

ln Fig. l of the drawing, a door 10 is shown in full lines in closed position and in broken lines the door is indicated in fully open positions at each side of the closed position, the door shown being of the double acting type. The door closer mechanism is enclosed within a casing'the top plate of which is located generally Hush with the floor at the hinge side of the door opening and, although not shown, is usually mounted in a cement casing.

The door closer mechanism illustrated comprises a top plate 1l, usually of steel, which is attached by screws l2 (see Fig. l0) to a casing or pan 13. This pan generally is mounted in the cement casing above mentioned and in use is provided with a quantity of oil, some of which is drawn into a cylinder by a piston as the door is swung to the open position and is expelled from the cylinder through a controlled port or ports as the piston is moved r in the opposite direction as the door closes, for checking the door closing movements. The piston 14 is ndicated in the drawing and will be referred to briefly hereinafter, but the mechanism, including the piston, for checking the closing movement of the door form no part of the present invention. i

Secured to the lower surface of the plate 11 by screws 15 is a member 16 provided with a cylindrical bore or cylinder in which the piston 14 reciprocates as the door swings as mentioned above. `A vertical spindle 17 extends upwardly through an opening in the plate 11 and in which opening the spindle is journalled. The lower end of the spindle is journalled in a forward lower eX- tension 18 of the member 16. The upper end of the door 10 is hingedly attached to the adjacent door casing while the lower end of the door is secured to the upper end of the spindle 17, usually by means of a suitable arm which is not shown but may be of the type shown in the Carlson et al. Patent No. 2,544,252, granted March 6, l, whereby, as the door swings from the closed position, the spindle is turned arcuately on a vertical axis. As the spindle is rotated, a cam member, indicated gcnerally by numeral 19, acts against one of the two rollers 20 carried by a reciprocal head 21 and forces the head to the left, as viewed in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, against the action of springs 22. The springs 22 are mounted on rods 23, secured at the forward ends to the head 21, and passing through or into guiding passages in an abutment block 24, secured to the plate 11. Adjustable seats 25 on the left-hand ends of the springs are carried by the block 24, by means of which the compression of the springs can be varied as required in a particular installation.

The head 21 is guided in its reciprocating movements by the vertical side wall sections 26 of the member 16, and by an intermediate horizontal base 27 which is located between two longitudinally disposed but transversely arcuate passages which accommodate the assembled springs 22 and rods 23. It will be seen that as the spindle 17 ismoved arcuately in one direction or the other by swinging movement of the door 10, they cam 19 secured to the spindle will act against one of the :rollers 20 or the other, depending on the direction of movement of the door, to press the head to the left as viewed in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, against the action of the springs for storing energy in the springs which will effect the return movement of the door to the closed position,

p as later described.

In Fig. 3 the cam 19 is shown in full lines rotated clockwise as a result of swinging ymovement of the door in the same direction from the closedl posrtion shown in Fig. 2. Broken lines in Fig. 3 show the cam rotated gaged roller 20 to the left and sov move the head 21 and rods 23 in the same direction against the action of the springs. When the door in being swung clockwise to the fully opened position of 105, for example, reaches an open position of about 90 from the closed position, one of two protuberant elements 19b on the cam 19 will engage the respective roller and force the latter and the head farther to the left, whereupon as the point of the protuberant element passes over the roller surface, the springs will press the head 21 to the right to seat the v roller within a socket or recessed seat 19C of the cam, as

indicated in full lines in Fig. 3. The roller receiving socket or seat 19e holds the door in the respective open position indicated in Fig. 3 which may be, as stated, 105 from the closed position shown in Fig. 2. Swinging the door in the opposite or counterclockwise direction from the closed position shown in Fig. 2 to the other fully open position, also indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3, effects similar cooperation of the cam 19 and the other roller 20. In closing the door from either of the cam held open positions, it is merely necessary to swing the door manually toward the closed position through the arc required to cause the respective protuberant element 1912 to pass beyond the horizontal center line of the cooperative roller, whereby the springs will move the door to the fully closed position, preferably under control of suitable checking means not shown.

In some instances it may be desirable that the holdopen function of the door closer as above described be rendered ineffective as at certain periods of the day or for more prolonged periods. By means of the present improvements such elimination of the hold-open funcl tion can be effected by a simple adjustment now to be described. As shown in Figs. 2-9, inclusive, the upper surface of the head 21, immediately below the plate 11, is provided at the left-hand edge thereof, with longitudinally disposed teeth or ribs 28, formed by milling, or by otherwise removing intermediate portions of the surface of the head to form grooves or channels 29.

yPortions of the left-hand ends of the teeth only are required in use as will be made clear hereinafter, butthe teeth are shown extending the full length of the top surface of the head since so forming them simplifies manufacture. Slidably supported in` receiving recesses y 30in the upper edges of the side walls 26 of the memt ber 16 is a blocking or stop member in the form of a transverse Irack bar 31, having teeth 32 along the forward edge thereof in the plane of and adapted for selective meshing or blocking contact with the ends of the teeth In Figs. 3,5, 7 andj9, the teetl'r 32 of ythe bar 31 are shown in meshing relation with the ends of the vteeth 28 of the head 21. the headin these figures .men-

tioned being in the door hold-open position. When the bar 31 is in the position of transverse adjustment shown in Figs. 3, 5, 7 and 9, wherein the teeth of the bar register with the channels between the teeth of the head, the head can be moved to its rearmost position by the cam 19 as the latter is turned by swinging movement of the door to open position. However, with the head 21 in a forward position in which the teeth of 'the rack and head are out of engagement, as indicated in (Fig. 2, the shifting of the bar 31 laterally from the 'bar against downwarddisplacernent.r

position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Figs. 4, 6 and 8, locates the teeth of the bar in longitudinal alignment with teeth of the head, which hence will engage end to end as the head moves to the left upon a given opening movement of the door. Such abutting engagement of the two sets of teeth will arrest further opening movement of the` door at a position wherein the active protuberance 1911 has not passed beyond the respective roller, as indicated in Fig. 4. Such arresting of the opening movement of the door short of the holdfopen position insures that as the door is released by the person opening it, the springs 22 will move the door to the closed position. In Fig. 4 the door is assumed to be swinging in a clockwise direction and will be arrested in such swinging movement as the ends of the two sets of teeth come into abutting relation. The same result will occur should the door be swinging in the counterclockwise direction since in that event the other cam protuberance 19b cannot pass over or swing past the other roller due to the blocking action .of the head aifurdzed by the end to end engagement of the teeth 28 an 3 It will be seen that the hold-open elements of the door closer mechanism above described can be rendered effective or ineffective by shifting the toothed bar 31 to either the meshing or the blocking positions respectively above described.

As illustrated, the slots or recesses 32a of the cross bar 31 are of adequate depth to enable the head 21 to move sufficiently to the left, as viewed in Fig. 3, for example, to enable either of the protuberant or riser elements 19b of the cam 19 to pass the respective roller 20 as the door is swung to a hold-open position, if the rack bar 31 is in a position such as is shown in Fig. 3. When the door is in a hold-open position further movement of the door in the direction of its opening movement causes the respective adjacent portions 19b of the cam 19 to press the adjacent roller 20 further to the left with the result that the ends of the teeth 28 seat at the bottoms of the slots 32a and' so prevent such further opening action of the door as will move the seat 19e of the cam out of registration with the roller. The portions 19d of the cam are more remote from the center of rotation than the elements 19e and so effect greater throw of the head 21 with the limiting result mentioned above.

Means for shifting the bar 31 to either of said positions preferably is located in a position of ready accessibility. The means shown in the drawing comprises a rotatable metal plug 33 positioned in a receiving opening therefor in the plate 11, as best shown in Figs. 5 and The plug illustrated has an annular groove 34 in which is positioned a packing ring 35 which excludes upward passage of oil through the plug opening, as well as entrance of foreign matter into the casing. The lower end of the plug is shown with a flange 36 preventing upward displacement of the plug from the opening, The plug carries an eccentrically located depending pin 37 which extends into a slot 38 provided in the rack bar 31, whereby, as the plug is turned through a given arc in one direction or the other, the bar will be shifted transversely to or from the above described blocking position. The length of the bar 31 preferably is such that the movement thereof is limited by the portions of the walls of the pan 13 at the ends of the bar receiving slots or recesses 30, whereby the bar can be shifted a distance only corresponding to the width of one tooth. Thus at one'extreme position the teeth of the bar will be aligned with the teeth 28 for limiting rearward movement of the head, while in the other extreme position the teeth of thejbar will be aligned with the channels 29 to enable the door to be swung into the hold-open positions. The plug' or bar shifting member 33 may be provided with ,any suitablel means by which the desired turning action thereof can be effective. In the form illustrated, the top of the plug is provided with a screw driver slot 39 by means of which the plug can be arcuately shifted from one of the described positions to the other for shifting the bar 31 and thus rendering operative or inoperative the holdopen features of the door closer mechanism. The plug is easily accessible for arcuate adjustment when the door is swung a few degrees from the closed position as will be obvious. The plug partially overlies the bar 31 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and so is retainedin position by the In Figs. 2, 3, and 4 of the drawing, a second cam 40 is shown on the spindle 17 which is for the purpose of engaging a roller 41 on the end of the piston as the door swings toward closed position, and forcing the piston to the left as viewed in said lgures, for forcing oil from the cylinder through ports or valves under controlled flow for checking the closing action of the door by the springs 22. The complete means for checking the closing action of the door is, as noted above, disclosed in my pending application above mentioned.

The present improvements provide a simple means for eliminating at will the functioning of the door hold-open features of the mechanism illustrated, and while the preferred embodiment of the improvements has been shown and described, variations in the specific form of the invention illustrated may be made within the scope of the invention deiined by the appended claim.

I claim:

In a door closer, a casing, a top plate for the casing, door closer mechanism in the casing comprising a vertical spindle movable arcuately about a vertical axis and extending from the casing through an opening in said plate for attachment to a door for swinging by the door as the latter is swung from a closed position to an open position, said mechanism comprising a cam fixed to said spindle, a reciprocal head, spring means pressing the head in one direction into contacting relation with said cam, said head being movable in the opposite direction by the cam against the action of the spring means as the spindle is moved in a door opening direction whereby the head tends to move the cam and spindle in a door closing position, said cam and head being provided with coacting hold-open members nterengaging in a given position of rotation of the cam in a door opening direc tion for releasably retaining the cam against movement by said spring means in a door closing direction, said head being provided with teeth at the end thereof remote from said cam, a blocking member comprising a trans` versely shiftable rack bar provided with teeth adapted to abut the teeth of said head in one position of lateral adjustment of the rack bar to arrest movement of the head by the cam short of the position of interengagement of said hold-open members for enabling the spring means to eifect closure of the door immediately following release of the force applied in opening the door, the teeth of said rack being adapted to mesh with the teeth of said head in another shifted position of the rack for avoid ing said arresting movement of said head, and manually operable means journalled in said plate and accessible at the upper surface thereof for shifting said rack bar to and from a position wherein the teeth of the bar engage the teeth of said head.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 980,230 Falkenrath Ian. 3, 1911 1,063,128 Katzenberger May 27, 1913 1,653,448 Bommer Dec. 20, 1927 1,666,903 Hubbs Apr. 24, 1928 2,588,010 Kennon Mar. 4, 1952 

